Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Nigerians seethe at the government’s failure to rescue abducted schoolgirls

Lola OkolosieGuardian/UK22
July 2014

A hundred days ago, 276 school girls from Chibok were
rounded up during their exams and spirited away into the forests of north-east
Nigeria. The kidnappings threw the militant group Boko Haram, which opposes
education and secularism, into the global spotlight.

For Nigerians, it was further evidence of how corruption and
incompetence continue to wreak havoc in the lives of ordinary women, children
and men. How could a once ragtag clutch of extremists reach this level of
sophistication and coordination, completely unchecked by the state?

Much of the answer lies in the authorities’ slow response to
any kind of crisis. Yesterday, the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan,
finally met parents and survivors. Spurred into action by last week’s visit
from 17-year-old humanitarian, Malala Yousafzai, Jonathan felt it appropriate
“to personally comfort ... and reassure them” that his government is doing “all
within its powers to rescue their daughters”, a claim that might be more
credible had it not taken three months for him to deliver it.

The facts speak for themselves: despite international
support from Britain, China and the US, among others, Nigeria remains unable to
unite the stolen girls with their families. Thankfully, 51 managed, without
state help, to escape captivity and return home. But Boko Haram maintains the
stranglehold on the region that it established long before the kidnappings.
Indeed, killings, fear and destruction appear to have become the new normal in
the north-east. In the first two months of 2014, at least 25 women and girls
were abducted. In June, reports emerged that a further 60 women and girls, and
as many as 30 boys had been taken.

It is particularly disturbing to note that Boko Haram’s
tactics partly reflect those of the Nigerian state in its fight against
terrorism. In 2012, in order to destabilise the organisation, the arrest of
wives and children of militants became government practice. Intent on not being
outdone, the group’s then leader, Abubakar Shekau, vowed that kidnapped women
would become “servants”, their fate being conscription, rape and forced
marriage.

The social media campaign to #BringBackOurGirls had
Nigerians at home and abroad shaking their heads in continued disbelief at how
little their government was able or willing to do. The government’s response –
to hire a US PR firm, Levick – speaks volumes. A better solution would be the
recovery of those taken by militants and serious measures to prevent it
happening again.

At every step the president and his supporters have shown
themselves to be disconnected from their citizens. It took Jonathan nearly
three weeks to make a public statement about the kidnappings and even then, he
criticised traumatised parents for not doing enough to aid search and rescue
efforts.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the government appears to have
been harassing key figures in the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, most recently
the former education minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili. Image seems to be the
highest priority for an administration too incompetent to mount an effective
rescue mission.

Frustrated campaigners have been portrayed as opposition
party stooges. A presidential statement argued: “Those who would manipulate the
victims of terrorism for their own benefit are engaging in a similar kind of
evil: psychological terrorism.” Harsh words to level at activists merely
demanding the government fulfil one of its most basic duties – protecting its
citizens.

A functioning democracy should be transparent and its
leaders accountable. These three sorry months have shown us how far Nigeria
still has to go. There is heightened security, but the authorities have been
vague about what is being done to secure the victims’ release.

Anger is an appropriate reaction to the somnolent response
of Nigeria’s government. But in order for it to prompt meaningful action, the
rage will have to be sustained and cannot be restricted to the desperate fate
of the Chibok girls. So many more are suffering with them.

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About Me

I am not an academic. I have been a commercial beekeeper in New Zealand for most of my working life, except for four years in detention as a conscientious objector during WW2. Those years were particularly formative for me. I have retained my horror of war and the suffering still being caused by armed conflict and violence in so many places. My convictions have been nurtured by my Methodist church connection, though my pacifism has been deplored by some good people.

Expect no slick answers here; I am still a searcher myself. How can a just and peaceful society develop from this chaos, and what are the obstacles in the way?

Most of the articles posted here are from other sources. I look for writers, wherever they can be found, who can throw light on what is happening in our world. If you would like to learn a little more about myself, please read this biographical interview series conducted by my granddaughter, Kyla.